AP photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Serena Williams returns a shot to Bianca Andreescu during the U.S. Open women’s singles final on Sept. 7, 2019, in New York.Electronic line calling will be used instead of line judges for U.S. Open matches at all courts except the two largest arenas, while singles qualifying and mixed doubles, junior and wheelchair competition are being eliminated entirely.
There also will be three ball people instead of six at courts other than Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Those were among the changes announced this week by the United States Tennis Association as it outlined plans for running a scaled-down, no-spectators version of its Grand Slam tournament in New York City amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Without question, this is a journey. Things are evolving,” new tournament director Stacey Allaster said during a video conference Wednesday. “We have the plan today. We’re in daily contact with both tours.”
At a minimum, there will be testing for COVID-19 via nasal swabs upon arrival at what Allaster termed “U.S. Open world,” and then once weekly thereafter. If there is the possibility that the tournament “bubble” has been breached by the virus, there could be testing every other day.